Lasers
A weapon system which fires (pulses) of coherent light beams generated through a Gennium-Arsenic crystal. Vehicle, Aerospace and Naval-grade Laser weapons are normally rated by the length and diameter of their focusing crystal. Thus, a 7.5/3 laser has a crystal that is 7.5 meters long and 3 centimeters in diameter. They are used in both ground and space combat. When carried on capital ships, capital-grade lasers are mounted in clusters of 10, 25, 50 or 100 lasers of the same size. Laser Weapons in the Legionnaire RPG (W.I.P.) Laser Weapons in Centurion Laser Cannon Lasers are among the longest-ranged weapons on the Centurion battlefield. With their deep narrow damage profile, they are also very good penetrators of armour. This is balanced by the fact that lasers are easily deflected by flicker shields. To achieve a decent hit probability at long range, the laser needs to have the target´s shields "painted" by a painting laser, which requires the laser-armed vehicle to work in conjunction with other units that are closer to the enemy. Lasers are also incapable of indirect fire, so they need a clear line of sight. In Centurion, the main types of laser cannon are: --- Anti-Personnel (AP) Lasers A tank's main defensive weapon against infantry, an AP laser fires a rapid succession of flickering beams rather than one long continuous pulse. Useless against any kind of armour due to its low penetration, the AP laser is devastating against vulnerable infantry and capable of laying down a swathe of suppressive fire. --- Painting Lasers All military ground and grav vehicles carry low-power lasers used to read shield flicker rates and guide missiles and bombs to their targets. due to their function on the battlefield, they are widely known as "painting lasers". Most infantry combat rifles are equipped with "painting lasers" that are but a fraction of the power of their larger vehicular cousins, requiring eight units to match the "illumination" at significantly shorter ranges. Vehicle-mounted units have a practical range of 4 km, infantry units have a range of 1.2 km. --- Vulcan Anti-Missile Laser Systems The Vulcan is an autonomous weapon system with its own radar to track and destroy incoming missiles from any direction. It utilises rapid-cycle, short-range lasers to destroy enemy missiles just before they hit the vehicle. --- Infantry Laser Rifles In Centurion, Legionnaires armed with laser rifles have the same damage profile as spike rifle-armed infantry; what the laser rifles lack in ammunition capacity and rate of fire, they make up with superior penetration and accuracy. In all, the resultant effect against vehicle armour and infantry is comparable. Laser rifles are more fragile and need more frequent adjustments than spike rifles; the only units routinely issued them are Special Forces commando squads (for their accuracy and silent operation) and Marine units (because they work in vacuum and are recoilless, which is an advantage in zero-gravity combat). Infantry may make one attack against a target that has moved in the same turn, two attacks against a stationary target, or three attacks against a stationary target in the same hex. All attacks in the same turn must be directed against the same target. Infantry attacking a target in the same hex as they are may freely choose the side of the target that is attacked ("close assault"). Laser Weapons in ''Interceptor'' (W.I.P.) Laser Weapons in ''Leviathan'' (W.I.P.) Category:A to Z Index Category:Technology Category:Weaponry